D.C. man found guilty in 2008 shooting that killed rival, bystander

A D.C. man who accidentally killed his father during a botched robbery has been found guilty in the slaying of a rival and a innocent bystander in a separate shooting.

Twenty-three-year old Arvel Crawford had been a part of a deadly dispute between gangs in the Sursum Corda public housing in the gentrifying NoMa neighborhood in Northwest Washington.

At least two bullets from Crawford’s gun ended up killing people they weren’t meant for, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Crawford and his group were responsible for multiple murders and related crimes, and even had the assistance of a corrupt D.C. police officer.

On the morning of Aug. 14, 2008, at around 10 a.m., Crawford snuck up on 18-year Johnquan Wright in front of a building at K Street and North Capitol Street NW and shot Wright multiple times in the back.

One of the shots went through Wright and struck an innocent bystander, 61-year-old Nolan Cooper. Both Wright and Cooper were killed.

On Thursday, a D.C. jury found Crawford guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and related weapons charges for both deaths.

Crawford was already serving an 18-year prison sentence for accidentally killing his father in a robbery conspiracy that involved a D.C. police officer.

The officer, Reginald Jones, was serving as a lookout in his squad car while Crawford and his father, Arvel S. Alston, 40, attempted to rob and kidnap a drug dealer, prosecutors said.

But the plan failed and Crawford fired several shots from his weapon, one of which fatally struck his father.